Presenting and Explaining (Lecture Method)

Overview
Presentations (lectures) and explanation by teachers comprise one-sixth to one-fourth of all classroom
time. In contrast to the opposition raised against this method, it has always been a popular model for
teachers and enables to deliver vast amount of information. The presentation model aims to describe
how to use it effectively.
The learning outcomes of the presentation model are to help students acquire, assimilate and retain new
information, expand their conceptual structures and develop particular habits of listening and for
thinking about the information.
Acquire and assimilate new information

Presentation Expand conceptual understanding

Model
Develop habits of listening and thinking

Planning
1. Choose objectives and content to be delivered. Consider the time and select the most important
concepts.
2. Make a conceptual map by identifying the key ideas and arranging them in logical patterns.
3. Diagnose student’s prior knowledge that will serve as guidelines for presenting new information
4. Make best use of time and space by allocating sufficient time to each concept that matches the students’
aptitude and rearranging the seating arrangement so that they remain motivated throughout the lesson.
5. Make ready use of pictures and illustrations, to capture students’ attention.
Conducting Presentations
1. Explain Goals
Students need to know what is expected of them. Effective teachers outlines the steps or phases of a
particular lesson and share with their students. Sharing not only help students focus but it also help
them make connections to the knowledge they already acquired in previous grades.
2. Establishing set and providing cues
“Get Ready… Get Set...Go!”
The get set alert is also very important in the classroom, therefore interesting initiating activities not
only make them interested in the lesson but also get their minds off other things they have been
doing before.
3. Presenting the learning material
Organization of the knowledge simplest and clearest form is extremely important. Students learn
more when the teacher is clear and specific. Explain links with every new concept such as “because,
since, in order to...” and give appropriate examples to make the content meaningful to the students.
4. Monitoring and checking for understanding
Make sure to check their status of understanding by keeping handy questions and using them
effectively. This will not only assure learning but would also make them alert.

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 Classroom Discussion
Overview
Classroom discussion and discourse are central to all aspect of teaching. Effective use of classroom
discussion requires an understanding of several important topics related to the discussion. Sometimes
discussion is confused with recitation, but discussion involves sharing of ideas between teacher and
students as well as among students. The discussion model is based on the following objectives:

Conceptual Understanding

Classroom
Discussion Involvement and Engagement

Communication Skills and

thinking Processes

Most discussions follow a similar pattern, but variations do exists, depending on the teacher’s goals for
particular lessons and the nature of the students involved. The learning environment and management
system surrounding discussion are very important and also demands a good use of space and time.
Planning
Two common misconceptions held by many teachers are that planning for a discussion requires less
effort than planning for other kinds of teaching and that discussions cannot really be planned at all
because they rely on spontaneous and unpredictable interactions among students. Both of these ideas
are wrong and planning for a discussion is extremely important and requires effort as well.
Consider Purpose:
Decide if the discussion is the most appropriate method of teaching the selected content. Discussion can
be used as a single method of instruction and it could also be a part of a lesson in which some other
method is used.
Consider Students
Knowing students’ prior knowledge is as important here as any other method of teaching. However, it
is also to be known that whether the students are ready for discussion or not, that depends on the
students communication skills. While planning discussion, it is important to devise ways to encourage
students to participate in the discussion.
Choose an approach
There are several approaches to conduct lesson based on discussion and it is selected on the basis of
objectives of the lesson and the nature of students involved. Three approaches are discussed here
1. Recitation approach: although recitation is often overused but cannot be ignored. Here, the
students are instructed to read an assignment or a topic from content. It is followed by teacher’s
questions about the content, this not only motivate students to complete reading assignment but
also encourage their communication skills.
2. Inquiry or problem based discussion: discussions are also used to engage learners in higher
order thinking skills. Normally, these discussions are part of problem based teaching. A lesson
Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)
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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 of science or history could also be planned on discussion, where the learners are engaged by
probing questions to investigate the reasons of problem. Like changing shape of a solid while
heating or flooding as a result of global warming.
3. Sharing based discussion: It helps students sharing their personal experiences related to a topic
and deriving common meanings. Younger children could be asked to share what they have
observed in the zoo or a farm house. Older students could be asked to share what they learnt
from a science experiment. Through purposeful sharing of ideas and discussion, their
understanding is refined and expanded.
Make a plan
A lesson plan for a discussion based lesson consists of a set of objectives and a content outline. It
should have a well-conceived puzzling event and/or list of questions. The questions should be a
combination of open ended and close ended questions that allows students to engage in discussion as
per his level of communication skills. Discussion could be initiated with low order questions, gradually
moving to higher order analytical questions.
Use physical space appropriately
Another planning tasks involves making arrangements for appropriate use of physical space. Depending
upon the class size, U shaped or circle seating pattern could be used. These types of seating
arrangement facilitates communication flow among students, however it could hinder teacher’s
movement to the board.
Conducting
1. Clarify aims and establish set
First of all the teacher shares aims of the lesson and enable students to get ready for the lesson. A
brief outline of the plan could also be shared.
2. Focus the discussion
The teachers establish focus by describing ground rules, asking initial questions and presenting a
puzzling situation. Students’ prior knowledge could also be activated through questioning to help
them connect to the current discussion.
3. Hold the discussion
As the discussion proceeds, students’ do get off track and they can be brought back by the following
strategies.
 Keep records: chalkboard or flip chart can be used to maintain a record of discussion.
 Listen to students’ ideas: here it is important to acknowledge what the students are sharing
regardless of the quality in order to give them confidence to share and take active part in
discussion.
 Use wait time: generally teachers are advised to wait for minimum three seconds after
posing a question. In case of higher order question it could be increase or rephrasing a
question can also help students understand better.
 Dignify students’ response: For engaging in more verbal discourse in the classroom, it is
important to care for the self esteem of the students. Therefore, even if they have given
wrong answer, support them with prompts.
 Expressing opinions: Although teachers should not dominate discussion by presenting her
ideas but using this opportunity selectively can help students understand that the teacher is a
part of learning community interested in sharing her ideas and discovering knowledge.

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 4. Managing the Learning Environment
A classroom full of many vocal ideas seems to be interesting, but at times becomes problematic by
dominating factor. Use the following strategies to allow harmony to flow in the system.
 Think-Pair-Share could be used to slow down the pace and engage students in thinking
process.
 Use signals for listening, sharing and thinking could also be used to regulate discussion.
5. End the discussion
As with other types of lessons, discussion needs a proper closure. It could be done by summarizing
the important points noted on the whiteboard and also by posing some questions based on
discussion.
6. Debrief the Discussion
It is important to focus to how does the discussion proceeded. It could be done by posing a
questions, “how do you think our discussion went today?”, “Did we give a chance to everyone to
share? ”What can we do to improve discussion in the classroom?”

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 Concept Teaching
Overview
Concepts in any subject are the basic building blocks for thinking, particularly higher-level thinking.
Concepts allow classifying objects and ideas and deriving rules and principles. They also provide
foundations for the ideas and network that guides our thinking. Concept teaching is about how a teacher
can help students in developing concepts needed for further learning as well as higher level learning.
Concept learning is more than classifying objects and forming categories. But it also helps students to
connect the concepts to previously existing knowledge and at times overcome misconceptions through
reformation of concepts. The learner outcomes of concepts teaching are as following:

Understanding specific
concepts

Concept Connecting concepts to prior

learning
Teaching
Logical reasoning and higher
order thinking
Planning
1. Selecting concepts
The curriculum is the primary source for selecting concepts to teach. Concepts may be embedded in
textbooks. The teacher needs to be very careful in selecting concepts. For example, while teaching
the concepts of heat and temperature that involves transfer of heat from one end of iron rod to
another, it is necessary to teach the concept of kinetic energy and metallic properties first. Teaching
concept is more than the giving meanings of the difficult words (vocabulary)
2. Deciding on an approach
Concept teaching can be taught by several approaches; here two of them are given:
a. Deductive approach (rule to example)It is used when the concept is new to students. First
concept is defined and then examples are given.
b. Inductive approach (example to rule)When the students already know something about
the concept, inductive approach is used. First examples are given and then concept is
defined.
3. Defining concepts
Defining concepts is an important task because at times the defined concepts are not age appropriate
and contains unnecessary words. There are three steps in defining concepts: (a) identify the
concept’s name (b) list the critical and non-critical attributes (c) write a concise definition.
4. Analyzing concepts
Once it is defined, look into examples and non-examples for clarifying its understanding. Selecting
examples and non-examples is the most difficult in planning for concept teaching. Examples serves
as connectors between the concepts and learners previous knowledge and experiences. Examples
must be meaningful to the learners and must be as concrete as possible.
5. Sequencing examples and non-examples
After selecting examples and non-examples, it is important to arrange them from known to
unknown.
Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)
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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 6. Use of Visual Images
“A picture is worth a thousand words”.
Use of appropriate pictures can accelerate their learning process.
7. Graphic Organizers
It helps us understanding the concepts in depth and also help the learners in remembering for long
term.
8. Plan for time and space
Time required for concept teaching depends on cognitive level of the learners and here the teachers
are mistaken by choosing lesser time to deliver a concept than required. The space utilized would be
best to use row and column seating arrangement.

Conducting
1. Clarify aims and establish set
At the beginning of the concept lesson, the teacher needs to clarify the aims of the lesson and how
the lesson will proceed. The teacher might go over the steps of the lesson and give reason why the
concepts are important. For establishing set, ask questions about the last lesson or share an
interesting anecdote that ties the forthcoming lesson into students’ prior knowledge.
2. Input examples and non-examples
The sequence of defining and labelling the concept will depend upon the approach used. In case of
deductive approach, first name the concepts with its attributes and then give appropriate examples
with help of simple images to help them understand better.
3. Test for attainment
Whatever the approach is used for teaching concepts, the checking for understanding is an
undoubtedly significant to ensure their understanding and building the concepts ahead. Oral
questioning followed by examples and non-examples can be used to check their understanding.
4. Analyze student thinking processes and integration of learning
The final step of using both approaches to teach concept is to help students analyze their own
thinking process. Teacher directed activities can help students to reflect on their thinking. To
accomplish this, the teacher asks students to think back what was going through their minds when
the concepts were introduced? How did they group item? What were the characteristics of the
examples share with them? How did they think about new examples?

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 Problem Based Learning
Overview
The essence of problem based learning (PBL) consists of presenting students with authentic and
meaningful problem situations that can serve as springboard for investigations and inquiry. The
learning outcome for using PBL is as following:

Inquiry and problem solving

skills
Problem
Adult role behaviors and social
Based Learning skills
Learn
Skills for independent Learning

Planning
PBL is characterized by students working in pairs or small groups to investigate puzzling, real life
situations. Since this is a highly interactive activity, therefore some people think that it does not require
planning. However, like all interactive methods of teaching, it requires detailed planning. It is actually
teacher’s thoughtful planning that makes it successful.
1. Deciding on goals and objectives
The goal a PBL lesson is inculcating inquiry skills, independent learning and understanding the role
of adults. A lesson could be aimed on any one or all three of them. Then, the objectives related to
the content need to be clearly communicated to the students.
2. Design appropriate problem solving situations
A good problem solving situation must meet at least five important criteria. First it should be
authentic, it should be based on real world experience. (How to deal with pollution at Sea View).
Second, it should pose a mystery and puzzlement, providing space for debate and discussion. Third,
problem should be meaningful and age appropriate to the learners. Fourth, Problem should be
sufficiently broad, in order to accomplish goals of PBL in terms of time, space and resources. Fifth,
a good problem should benefit from group work, not hindered by it.
3. Organize resources and plan Logistics
PBL encourages students to work with a variety of materials and tools; some are located in the
library or computer lab and others outside the school. Getting resources organized and planning the
logistics of students are major planning tasks for PBL lessons.

Conducting
1. Orient Students to the Problem
As with other lessons, aims and objectives of the lesson should be clearly communicated to the learners.
They should be exactly knowing what they would be doing. With the learners, who have not been
engaged in PBL before, the teacher needs to explain the process and procedure in some detail. An
example can help them understand better. The following points need to be shared with the learners:

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  The primary goal of the lesson is not to learn large amount of new information but to investigate
problems and become independent learners, the learners would “explore things themselves”.
 The problem or question under investigation has no absolute “right” answer, and most complex
problems have multiple and sometimes contradictory solutions.
 During investigations, learners would be encouraged to ask questions and seek information.
 During analysis and explanation phase of the lesson, students would be encouraged to express
their ideas openly and freely. No idea should be ridiculed by the teacher or classmates.
2. Organize students for the study
Problem based learning requires teacher to develop collaborative skills among students and help them
to investigate problems together. Help them plan investigating and reporting task. For example, if they
have problem based on history, help them explore resources from the library. It is also recommended
that learners should be organized in a cooperative learning group, so that each student is clear with the
task to be accomplished.
3. Assist independent and group investigation
Investigation is the heart of PBL. Therefore, it is the teacher’s great responsibility to ensure it. Although
every PBL would be having a slightly different investigation technique, but every problem solving
strategy has the following steps to follow:
 Data collection and experimentation
It should be more than reading texts, teacher should encouraged learners to collect data, conduct
mental or real experiment until they understand the problem well. Interviewing, observing,
measuring and taking notes could be taught prior to setting up PBL lesson.
 Hypothesizing, explaining and providing solutions.
After learners have collected sufficient data and conducted experiments (if required and feasible) they
would be asked to formulate hypothesis. The teacher’s task would again be supportive as well as
probing to facilitate them in reaching the required solution.
4. Develop and present artifact and exhibits
The artifacts are more than a written report, but it could have pictures, videos and relevant material to
support the report. Of course the nature of artifacts would be of different level according to age of
learners. The PBL planned on acid rain could result in poster presentation in lower secondary but in
higher grades it could be an experiment based report for production of carbon dioxide and other
harmful gases from industries and vehicles.
5. Analysis and evaluation of the problem solving process.
The final phase of the lesson should be based on activities aimed at helping learners to analyze and
evaluate their own thinking process as well intellectual and investigative skills. The teacher can help
them reconstruct their thinking by asking them questions like, “when did you first realize that this could
be a reason for the problem”, “what made you think that experiment is required to investigate the
problem?”

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 Cooperative Learning
The five basic elements that are required in any cooperative learning lesson are: positive interdependence,
individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing.
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/63639
Some Strategies
Jigsaw
 Class is divided into five groups.
 Each group has six members.
 Each member is given a number and each group a color. (Home group)
 All number 1s are called and a topic is given to them.
 Similarly six topics are given to each number
 Content is given to each number group to study and master called expert group
 Expert group members sit together and attain understanding.
 Time is given for discussion
 Now the expert group members are asked to go back in home group.
 They take the expert knowledge and deliver it in the home group.
Group Investigation
 Allows students to both plan both the topic and ways to proceed.
 Most complex requires sophisticated classroom norms and structure.
 Groups are heterogeneous preferably but could be around friendship.
 Students are expected to plan the investigation, however teacher remain in touch to ensure
maximum participation and ensuring task oriented working.
 Rest of the steps are similar to Problem based learning.
 Roles can be assigned.

Think Pair Share

1. Thinking: teacher pose a question, allows time to think. (Talking is not thinking time)
2. Pair: now teacher ask them to pair and share about their response to the question.
3. Share: teacher ask them to share what have they discuss
Index Card Puzzle Hunt
1. 1.

Number Heads together

1. Numbering: teacher divides class into 3-5 member teams and have them number off so each student
has a different number. (any other coding can also be used)
2. Questioning: Teacher poses a question
3. Heads Together: all group members put their head together and make sure everyone knows the
answer.
4. Answering: Now teachers call a particular number and students from each group raise their hands
and provide answer to the whole class.

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi
 Syntax of the Cooperative Model
1. Clarify goals and establish set
Tell the students what have you planned for today with help of an interesting motivating activity (if
possible) and let them know the expected outcomes as well. It may long if you are implementing
cooperative learning for the first time in class.
2. Present information
Primary information about the content is given either verbally or in form of text. Even if you have
providing them with text students do need some explanation (overview)
3. Organize students into learning teams
Mention clearly how are you going to be making teams (what grounds/how many groups/how many
students/what are their role).
It may take longer time than expected.
4. Assist teamwork and study
How are you going to assess their group work? The roles assigned must be reinforced and teacher
should ensure everyone is participating and simultaneously helping those needing guidance. There
is a fine line between assistance and too much interference. Remember we want them to learn small
group skills as well!
5. Test on the material
Though evaluation strategy should be consistent with the goals of the lesson but content specific
assessment is necessary. Apart from it, rubrics can be used to assess cooperative learning.
6. Provide Recognition (for both individual and group effort and achievement)
Extremely important to acknowledge the work and provide them with token of appreciation.
Mention clearly how you would do that.
***What are rubrics?
A rubric is an assessment tool or guide that is used to evaluate performance. It can be based on
process or the product that needs to be evaluated. Usually it consists of performance criteria, rating
scale and indicators. Select a rubric consistent with the lesson’s content along with performance of
the students.
Rating scale for performance levels

4 3 2 1
Criterion 1
Criterion 2
Criterion 3
Criteria that describe the product Indicators for each performance level & criterion

Online Collaborative Learning tools:

 https://wakelet.com/
 https://jamboard.google.com/
 https://new.edmodo.com
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BL-503UOaY

Extracted from Arends, Richard – Learning to Teach (2014)

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SNHasan, Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi